Honda met Spec 2 power target, but driveability regressed, Watanabe says

Honda’s Spec 2 update met the power target the manufacturer had set, but driveability regressed towards the level it experienced in the early stages of Spec 1, HRC president Koji Watanabe says. He linked the regression to changes in the combustion process and other areas of the power unit.

Watanabe traced Honda’s development delay to a late start. After announcing its return in 2023, the company needed time to establish a fully functioning development organisation and effectively lost almost two years, he said. Initially short of personnel, Honda focused first on the battery and electric motor, leaving internal-combustion-engine development behind. Budget-cap and operating-time restrictions later prevented it from making up the lost ground.

Spec 2 was intended to close Honda’s power gap to competitors gradually by increasing output, Watanabe said. He said hardware changes and control-system refinements could improve driveability over time; Honda had already confirmed it was improving. Yet the power unit remains short of power compared with rivals, he said, and Honda still needs to address that deficit.